


for life's not a paragraph

by aubades



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-12 14:27:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9076528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aubades/pseuds/aubades
Summary: “Do you want to be partnered with someone else?” Jyn asks, barely five minutes into their first meeting about the assigned beginning-of-the-year English project. She squints at Cassian, her eyes locked onto his face.“I...what?” Cassian blinks at Jyn from across the library table, slackjawed. He had been in the middle of explaining Thursday’s lecture notes, as she had missed class.” Why would I care who-”“You look ridiculously unhappy to be here.” Jyn explains, cutting him off again.Cassian would frown if he wasn’t already frowning. “That’s just...my face. I always look unhappy,” he explains.





	

**Author's Note:**

> When they text, Cassian is in _italics_ and Jyn is in **bold**.
> 
> I wrote most of this listening to a combination of really cheesy love songs, the soundtrack for Rogue One, and the new song by HIGHGRND called Stardust (inspired by Rogue One).
> 
> I really wanted to take Cassian and Jyn, two characters I've come to adore, give them a big hug, and let them fall in love. So I wrote this fic. Hope you enjoy!

we are for each other: then  
laugh, leaning back in my arms  
for life’s not a paragraph

\- ee cummings, since feeling is first

 

“Do you want to be partnered with someone else?” Jyn asks, barely five minutes into their first meeting about the assigned beginning-of-the-year English project. She squints at Cassian, her eyes locked onto his face.

“I...what?” Cassian blinks at Jyn from across the library table, slack-jawed. He had been in the middle of explaining Thursday’s lecture notes, as she had missed class.” Why would I care who-”

“You look ridiculously unhappy to be here.” Jyn explains, cutting him off again.

Cassian would frown if he wasn’t already frowning. “That’s just...my face. I always look unhappy,” he explains.

Jyn’s eyes narrow as they search his face, but, after a short moment that leaves Cassian’s heart beating nervously in his chest, the corners of her lips twitch. She relaxes and leans back in her chair, causing the wooden legs to creak and send out a long echo that spreads throughout the empty, dimly lit library.

(Cassian had insisted on the early meeting time and Jyn had rolled her eyes, but gone along with it.)

“That’s not true,” Jyn says, a mischievous glint in now her eyes. “I saw your face after that kid who used to tease you in eighth grade fell face first onto the floor during science class.” She tilts her chin up, but her gaze never wavers from Cassian’s face. “Someone had tied his shoelaces together. I can’t remember his name...was it-”

“Matt Crosby,” Cassian grunts. He shuffles his notes in front of him, fighting off the childish urge to hold them in front of his face like a shield from Jyn’s stare. Matt had tormented throughout most of middle school, and apparently had the observational skills (and mental capacity) of a small child, as he hadn’t noticed Cassian repeatedly “dropping his pencil” or looping his stupidly expensive shoelaces together in a large knot.

“Yeah, well…” Jyn’s says, pushing Cassian back into the present. “The look on your face was as if your birthday had come several months early.” She twirls her pencil in her hands. “He was horrible, anyway. But you know, I think Matt was just jealous of your hair?” She makes a gesture toward what Bodhi fondly refers to “The Cassian Hair Floof.”

“I thought you said you didn’t remember him?” Cassian blurts out, but he can’t stop himself from smiling (it’s because Jyn _remembers_ , not because of the comment about his hair). Jyn throws her head back in a loud peal of laughter that also echoes throughout the old library, and leaves a ring in Cassian’s ears.

“That’s more like the Cassian Andor I know,” she says, looking at him from behind her bangs, and Cassian can feel the heat rising to his cheeks. He gives a small cough.

“Well, in any case,” Cassian says, hoping he doesn't look as red as he feels, “no, I don’t want to be partnered with someone else.”

Jyn brightens. “Well, good. Everyone else in that class is an asshole, anyway.”

“How _would_ you know?” Cassian replies, raising his eyebrows. “You’ve only been there one day so far, and it’s just the first week of school.” Cassian suddenly thinks about how specific that statement was and itches his palms against his jeans.

“Right...” She gives Cassian a look like she can’t believe she has to explain this to him. “I know because everyone is an asshole.”

“Not Bodhi,” Cassian says automatically, thinking of his friend. Bodhi sits behind him, and his quiet mimicry of their teacher is the only thing getting him through the class, other than the day (hopefully _days_ ) that Jyn chose to show up. “Bodhi is completely incapable of being an asshole, even when the occasion calls for it. He tries, but his heart is never really in it.”

“No, that’s true,” Jyn agrees emphatically. “Bodhi is not an asshole. Bodhi is great. He let me copy his notes in Biology.”

Cassian’s eyes widen. “What? He didn’t tell me that-”  
  
“Anyway!” Jyn places her hands on top of the table between them, pulling Cassian’s notes towards her. Cassian’s fingers twitch where her’s almost brushed his. “We should focus on this project.” She flings the class syllabus at him. “Pick a book, I don’t care. I’ll just work on copying these notes and then we can make a plan for the project.”

“Oh...okay,” Cassian nods, looking over their book list, deliberating over which to pick for their project - a presentation, summarizing one of the books they’ll be reading over the course of the school year.

“And I honestly don’t care what you pick,” Jyn adds, snorting and muttering to herself, “I’ve read all of them, anyway.”

Cassian takes a moment to look over at the girl sitting across from him, who has now delved back into her notes, with her brown hair tucked behind her ear as she chews on end of her pencil. He thinks about how he’s known Jyn since grade school, but only through classroom gossip and other stories he’s had to piece together by himself over the years. He thinks about how Jyn has always been someone just on the outskirts of his life - and maybe it’s been the same on her side as well, maybe they’ve just moved through life so far orbiting each other like two stars, dancing around some invisible focal point. He thinks about how this is the first real conversation they’ve ever had, and it’s definitely not at all like the ones he’s imagined in his head - but somehow, it’s so much better.

\---

Cassian meets up with Bodhi later that day on his friend’s front lawn. Bodhi sits out underneath the hot August sun, sweat pooling at the base of his shirt and along his forehead, but he looks content as he tinkers around with whatever mechanical contraption he has managed to get his hands on.

Cassian stands above him, casting a shadow over his friend to announce his presence. “You didn’t tell me you had Biology with Jyn,” he states in lieu of a greeting. Bodhi glances up at him, blinking slowly.

“Yes, hello to you too, Cassian.” Bodhi says as Cassian slumps to the ground to sit next to him. Cassian waits a few seconds for Bodhi to tighten a bolt with his wrench, and Bodhi finally adds, “Yeah, I didn’t tell you because I knew if I did, you would never shut up about it, and our conversations would just turn into one endless stream of: did Jyn show up today? If so, what did she say? What did she look like? Did she, by any chance, mention a taller, handsome Mexican fellow, perhaps by the name of Cas-”

“Oh, shut up,” Cassian quickly interjects, but he can feel the heat on his cheeks for the second time that day. He punches Bodhi in the shoulder, causing the other boy to drop his wrench. “That’s...I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

Bodhi rolls his eyes, picking up his wrench. “I’m not going to even dignify that with a response.”

“See, technically, that’s a response right there.”

Bodhi eyes Cassian. “So help me, Andor, I will throw you off of this lawn. You know I can do it.”

Cassian huffs out a laugh, lying down on the grass behind him. He closes his eyes against the warm glare of the sun. “I know you can, _Rook_. But you won’t, because I’m your friend...and friends don’t throw each other off of lawns.” He pauses, remembering his earlier conversation with Jyn. “Also you’re like the nicest person I know.”

Bodhi sniffs. “I am the nicest person you know, but then again, not everyone has to be friends with _you_ ,” he mutters, and Cassian laughs so hard he has to roll over on his side.

They fall into silence as Bodhi returns to his mechanics, and Cassian internally groans about having to be in school while summer still reigns on. And...he can’t help himself, as he reruns his morning with Jyn over and over in his mind. How she first looked when he saw her on the steps of the library, huddled against the brick wall in an angry ball, but how she had unfurled once he called out her name. How she watched him carefully as he explained what he knew about the project, as if she was waiting for him to suddenly run out on her, apparently expecting him to demand to work with someone else. How she treated him with a kind of familiarity that took Cassian by surprise.

How she smelled like fresh rainfall and lilacs as she stood next to him, almost tucked into his side as she typed her number into his phone, before running down to the bus stop after a promise to meet up again the following day.

Bodhi breaks into his thoughts by asking, “So...how did it go?”

“I thought you didn’t want to know.” Cassian keeps his eyes closed, not wanting to let go of the radiance on his face and in his chest.

“Well, this is me taking a genuine interest in your...day to day life,” Bodhi says thickly, as though it deeply pains him. “You know, like good friends- dammit, Cassian, just tell me how it went. Actually, I know how it went, you’re like freaking _beaming_ , dude-”

“Really well.” Cassian opens his eyes to the blue sky above them, taking in the full depth of the cloudless day. “It went really well.”

\---

After dinner, Cassian takes a deep breath before he texts Jyn, only exhaling with a large woosh after the text has sent.

(7:15) _Hey, it’s Cassian. Where and when do you want to meet tomorrow?_

(7:16) **whatever is good for me. i’m free all day.**

(7:16) **although not the ass crack of dawn like this morning would be nice.**

(7:17) _Duly noted._

(7:17) _How about the library again then? I’m free all day too._

(7:19) **did you not see the sign on the door this morning??? they’re closed tomorrow for maintenance.**

(7:20) _...Yeah, I completely missed that._

(7:22) **hmmmmmm**

(7:22) **you have anything against tea**

(7:23) _No?_

(7:24) **i’ve got a place :)**

\---

That night, as Cassian lays on his bed, underneath the glittering expanse of glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to his ceiling, memories of Jyn Erso flow in and out of his head.

Jyn, in fourth grade, who’s eyes he meets first before the rest of her. They’re wide, green, and quickly become the most beautiful thing Cassian knows.

Jyn in fifth grade, who picks the desk next to Cassian’s to claim as her own on the first day of school. Cassian purposefully forgets his pencil several times so he has an excuse to speak to her.

Jyn in sixth grade, who is gone from school for three months after her mother dies.

Jyn in seventh grade, who has blood trickling down her chin from a split lip, and blood on her knuckles from where punched a high schooler in the face, knocking him out cold in the school parking lot.

Jyn, in eighth grade, who is picked last for dodge ball in PE. She spends the rest of class sabotaging her teammates, and Cassian is nailed in the head by the opposing team’s ball because he’s distracted by the sight of Jyn her bright red shorts.

Jyn, in ninth grade, who shows up to Math class only on the days they have pop quizzes, despite the fact that no one knows when they’re going to happen. Cassian knows from the look on their teacher’s face every time Jyn steps through the door that she passes them with flying colors.

Jyn, in tenth grade, who Cassian sees in a hazy dream, where she is wearing a flowing, light green dress, the same shade as her eyes. She kisses him awake, and Cassian feels a new kind of ache when he stares at the back of her head during class.

Jyn, in eleventh grade, who gives Cassian a thumbs up when their English teacher tells them they’re paired together for the project. Cassian hasn’t spoken to her in over four years.

Cassian thinks he fell in love with Jyn Erso somewhere between the shorts and strange dreams, although he kind of suspects he had been in love all along.

\---

The sign outside of the place Jyn had told Cassian to meet her in front of reads _Whills Tea Shop_. It’s a small café nestled between an art supply store and an abandoned building in a quiet area of town not too far away from Cassian and Jyn’s high school. The building is simple and nondescript, with peeling paint around the store window and an abandoned vegetable garden next to the front door. Cassian frowns a little as he peers into the dirty window, wondering if he’s at the right place.

He spies two figures huddled together inside, near what must be the front counter. The tables appear to be empty, even though it’s mid-afternoon.

“You’re frowning again,” says a voice behind him, causing Cassian to jump and bump his nose against the glass. He rubs his face as he turns around to see Jyn, who is watching him with an amused expression. “Before you ask, this really is a tea shop.”

“I’m just surprised I’ve never seen this place before, that’s all,” Cassian explains. Jyn smirks.

“I don’t think many people know about it, actually. I only found it about a year ago when I cut class one afternoon.” She leads Cassian through the front door. A small bell jingles to announce their presence. “I come here a lot, though, so I’m glad it’s never crowded.” She stops suddenly, pulling Cassian close to whisper in his ear, her breath tickling his neck. “It’s like my secret place, you know?”

“Oh,” Cassian says, trying to ignore the warmth in her breath, her voice, and in her arm that’s looped around his. She moves, walking into the shop, and Cassian feels the loss instantly.

Despite outward appearances, the tea shop is clean and brightly lit on the inside, the sun casting a soft glow through the windows onto the wooden tables and floor. It’s small, with only a handful of tables and chairs, but doesn’t feel cramped. The walls are covered with paintings and scrolls of places and languages that Cassian doesn’t know, and the soft, musky smell of incense hovers in the air. However, the two figures Cassian had spotted earlier are nowhere to be seen.

Cassian finds himself staring dumfounded at the giant wall of tea tins, jars, and other cases behind the front counter. Jyn catches him looking and laughs, saying, “Lot of tea, right?”

“Lot of tea.” Cassian repeats. Jyn shuffles him toward a table in the back corner of the shop, where they set up their laptops and books.

“Don’t worry,” Jyn smiles at him, a large, genuine smile, and Cassian accidentally drops his pencil back into his backpack. “Chirrut should be around soon with some tea.”

“But we didn’t order anything.” Cassian states. Jyn’s smile grows, and she puts a finger to her lips to shush him, before cracking open her textbook.

Around half an hour later, the door to a room behind the front counter creaks open, startling the silence that had settled over the tea shop, save for Cassian’s typing on his laptop and the occasional flick of a page in Jyn’s textbook. Cassian looks up in time to see a middle-aged Chinese man walking toward them, holding a tray with a large, steaming teapot and two cups.

“Good afternoon, Jyn,” says the man. He sets the tray down on the table next to theirs, turning his face toward them with a quirk of his head. “And friend?”

“Yes, and friend,” Jyn laughs, moving her books to make room for their tea. She nudges Cassian’s laptop with her notebook, and Cassian quickly closes it, stuffing it back into his backpack. “This is Cassian. Cassian, this is Chirrut. He owns this place along with his partner, Baze.”

Cassian is staring up at the man, at his unusually light-colored eyes. Suddenly, he realizes. “Are you-” he begins to ask, but Chirrut cuts him off.

“So, what brings you in today, Jyn and Cassian?” Chirutt pulls a chair over with the hook of his cane, sidling up to their table. He leans over to grab the teapot, and Cassian watches with amazement as he pours tea into the two cups without spilling a single drop. “It sounds productive,” Chirrut adds as he places the teapot back down on the table, and Jyn reaches over to pick up their tea.

“Oh, just school,” Jyn replies, placing Cassian’s cup in front of him before taking her own. “Cassian and I have a project together that’s due later this week.” She takes a small sip of her cup and makes a satisfied noise. “This is really good, Chirrut. What’s in it?”

“It’s just something we put together this morning,” Chirrut beams, continuing, “It should help you with your focus for your schoolwork, and it also has the added benefit of sparking interest when it comes to new lo-”

“Chirrut.” A voice rumbles from the front of the store, quiet but heard throughout. Cassian sees the other man, presumably Baze, poking his out of the door to the back room. He has a tired, but fond look on his face. “You should let Jyn and her friend get back to work.”

Chirrut smiles. “I’ll bring out another pot in a little bit,” he says, quietly as he stands. Before he leaves, his colorless eyes settle on Cassian for a moment, making Cassian squirm under the intense scrutiny. But the moment is over quickly, and Chirrut seems to be satisfied. Cassian watches as he makes his way across the store, without any hesitation save for a few clicks of his cane along the wooden chairs.

Cassian waits until he hears the door close shut to ask, in a hushed voice, “Isn’t he blind? How was he able to do all that?”

Jyn nods at him, looking thoughtfully over to where Chirrut disappeared. “He is. And I don’t know. I’ve never been able to figure him out.” She gives Cassian a small smile, taking another drink of her tea. “But the tea he and Baze makes is the best I’ve ever had. Somehow, they always know exactly what I want, even when I don’t.” She chuckles. “ _Especially_ when I don’t.”

Their eyes meet, and Cassian’s fingers curl around his cup. “Thanks for showing me this place,” he says, earnestly. Jyn’s eyes widen.

“Of course!” Jyn exclaims, and she coughs a little. Cassian thinks he must be imagining the way her cheeks tinge a light pink, ever so slightly.

He hopes that, even after the project is over, he still might be able to spend his afternoons with her like this.

\---

Cassian finds himself humming the entire walk home after he and Jyn part ways outside of the café. He can’t remember the name of the song, and thinks its something his little sister had maybe been playing in the background at their house during the last couple of weeks, but it’s there in his head, anyway.

At home, he quite literally runs into his older brother as he steps through the front door, who is on his way out. Milo gives him a surprised but amused look as he pulls on his sneakers, and Cassian realizes he’s still humming.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Milo asks, and before Cassian can answer, Flora’s voice rings out from the kitchen. “He had a date with Jyn Erso earlier today,” Cassian’s sister says.

“What, no!” Cassian quickly responds, raising his voice to talk over Milo’s loud laughter. “It wasn’t a date, Flora, we have a class project together. We just met up to work on it.”

“Uh huh.” Flora walks over to where her two older brother are standing, still in her pajamas, with messy hair and a sly look in her eyes. “Whatever you say. I wasn’t the one standing in the bathroom this morning mumbling, ‘I wonder if Jyn will notice this shirt matches the color of her eyes.’”

Cassian sometimes forgets his sister is twelve going on twenty-five. He kicks Milo, who hasn’t stopped laughing, and his older brother yelps indignantly.

“Hey, don’t punish us for your own sad, sad life.” Milo says, but he’s still grinning. “Anyway, I’m off to work. I’ll see you guys later.”

“Bye, Milo,” Cassian grumbles, all but pushing his brother out of the door.

Flora quirks an eyebrow at him, before asking, “Want to watch TV with me?”

“Sure,” Cassian says, following his younger sister over to the couch.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Jyn noticed your shirt.”

“Let’s stop talking about this, Flora.”

\---

(6:41) **do you remember how we first met?**

(6:43) _Wow, good morning to you too._

(6:44) **don’t avoid the question Andor.**

(6:46) _Probably sometime during 5th grade, I’m assuming. We had the same teacher._

(6:47) **WRONG. also i said how, not when.**

(6:47) **but fyi, it was in 4th grade.**

(6:50) _Didn’t you have Mrs. Teller in 4th grade? I’m pretty sure that’s not who I had, because she was the nice one and I definitely had the teacher that made everyone cry._

(6:52) **awww mrs. jacobson made you cry???**

(6:53) _I never said she made ME cry. She made Bodhi cry though._

(6:55) **damn if she hadn’t been so old i would have kicked her ass for that.**

(6:56) _Well, seeing as how you were ten years old and you didn’t know Bodhi at the time, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have gone full psycho demon-child on her._

(6:56) _Although, knowing you...you never know._

(6:58) **full psycho demon-child?????**

(6:58) **i resent that.**

(6:58) **anyway we’re getting off track.**

(6:58) **you don’t remember?**

(7:06) **hello??**

(7:15) _Sorry, I had to take a shower._

(7:15) _You are aware the sun is still rising, right?_

(7:15) _But...um, I guess not? My memory is kind of fuzzy when I think that far back._

(7:16) _Why do you ask?_

(7:32) _Jyn?_

(7:45) _Hey, Jyn...I’m sorry if I offended you. Are you upset with me?_

(8:20) **cassian. i’m not mad!! i got my backpack snatched when i was on the bus and my phone was in it, so that’s why it took me so long to reply.**

(8:20) **ok well since you don’t remember...i’ll just tell you what i do.**

(8:20) **in 4th grade, your family went to city park the same day my parents and i did.**

(8:22) **there used to be a huge oak tree not far from the pool. for some reason, i was so determined to climb that tree. probably because dad told me not to, that it was too dangerous, but i remember just this...urge to climb up there and see what the whole park looked like from the top of the tree.**

(8:22) **that day, while my parents were putting our stuff away in the car, i sneaked away and made a mad dash for the tree.**

(8:23) **you and your family were actually sitting underneath the tree, but you guys didn’t notice me climb up it behind you. but everyone DID notice when i grabbed the wrong branch and it snapped, and i came tumbling down on top of you.**

(8:23) **like i literally landed on top of your head.**

(8:23) **you were wearing a ninja turtles shirt and had like this horrendous yet very soft mess of hair.**

(8:24) **and i remember feeling so embarrassed and i thought you were going to be really mad at me, that you or your family would yell at me.**

(8:24) **but you looked right at me, laughing, and said**

(8:25) **“wow i didn’t realize angels really did fall from the sky!”**

(8:25) **honestly how does a ten year old know such a stupid line like that? i blame your older brother.**

(8:25) **but it was...the nicest thing someone had said to me, and the expression on your face was so genuine. i’ll never forget it.**

(8:26) **anyway you’re probably gonna walk into homeroom in like 20 seconds and i could’ve waited to tell you all this but.**

(8:26) **i don’t know why i was thinking about it and just really wanted to tell you.**

(8:28) **actually that’s not entirely true, i was thinking about it because on saturday, you were wearing yet another ninja turtles shirt. how many of those do you have? how many shirts with turtles in face masks do you really need?**

(8:29) _I have at least five, actually._

(8:29) _TMNT has never stopped being cool. I don’t know what you’re talking about._

(8:29) _Also, I’m literally just stepping through the front doors right now. Distract Mr. Sheen if I’m not there when the bell rings._

\---

Cassian lies when Jyn asks him if he knew how they first met. To be honest, he doesn’t think Jyn remembers the incident at the park, whereas he knows he thinks about it probably too often. But as the texts come in, it is apparent that Jyn _does_ remember, and Cassian can’t tear himself away from his phone as he and Bodhi quickly rush down the street, toward school.

So Cassian is a little bit slower than usual (Bodhi makes sure to point this out, and urgently reminds him that they’re going to be late), but with each text from Jyn, it feels more and more like he’s swimming underwater. By the time they reach the front doors, Cassian’s brain is screaming at him that he needs to sit down and process this information, but there’s no time. Cassian steps through the door to his homeroom classroom just as the bell gives its first shrill of the day.

Jyn is wildly gesticulating toward the windows, yelling something about a rabid dog in the school courtyard. Enough people are looking at her or out the window, including the teacher, to allow Cassian to slip in like he had been there the whole time. He catches Jyn’s eye, and she openly grins at him, causing Cassian’s stomach to flip-flop uncomfortably.

“Actually,” Jyn says abruptly, cutting off their teacher who looks like he wishes his cup of coffee was significantly larger, “you know what, it looks like the dog has disappeared. I can’t even begin to tell you what a bullet we just dodged. Just like that scene in _To Kill A_ -”

“Thank you, Jyn,” Mr. Sheen says dryly, sighing. “Now, if we’re all done imagining things, I’m going to call attendance.”

Jyn, completely oblivious to the stares the rest of the class is giving her, shoots another grin at Cassian, who smiles, holding back a laugh. He pulls out his phone after the teacher has called his name, hiding it behind his books.

(8:33) _Thanks for that. I hope I didn’t just ruin your reputation among our very dignified homeroom classmates, who are looking at you like you’ve finally cracked._

(8:33) **oh god they’ve always thought i'm nuts, don’t worry about it.**

(8:33) **besides that was the most fun i’ve had in a while.**

Out of the corner of his eye, Cassian notices Jyn hesitating over her phone. He bites his lip, and types quickly.

(8:34) _Are you busy later tonight?_

\---

The walk to the park is longer than Cassian remembers. He and Jyn take a path that snakes through the suburban neighborhoods littering the streets between the school and their destination. The clouds in the sky begin to turn orange and yellow as sunset begins, and more than once, Cassian catches himself admiring the glow cast on Jyn’s face as she speaks.

The presentation that afternoon had been uneventful, therefore meaning it went well. As they stood in front of the class, Cassian had felt a surge of pride to be standing with Jyn, realizing that it felt _right_ to be by her side. In the end, they had more or less given the presentation to each other, as Cassian had been unable to wipe the smile off of his face, or tear his eyes away from Jyn to look at the rest of the class. Jyn had kept his gaze, and as they were finishing up, had flashed him a small, satisfied smile. They brushed shoulders as they returned to their seats.

When he sat back down at his desk, Bodhi gave him a thumbs up, and whispered, “Congrats, but you should know you’re lucky that everyone else in this class was basically asleep during the last fifteen minutes.”

Cassian’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

Bodhi rolled his eyes and muttered something about how he should have grabbed his video camera, just as their teacher called the next group up to the front of the class.

Now, as Cassian watches Jyn try to flip a skateboard they found abandoned along the side of the street, her shoulders shaking with laughter at how she can barely keep her balance on the board, he realizes what Bodhi had been talking about. He’s quite sure he had made his fondness, and even _love_ , for Jyn quite obvious to anyone who had been paying attention in class.

But, as Jyn is pushing the skateboard into his hands, her fingers curling around his wrist, telling him to try it out for himself, he can’t bring himself to be too bothered about it.

When they finally see the line of trees that mark the beginning of the city park, Jyn turns to grin at him before breaking into a run.

She reaches the tree before him. It’s just as impressive as Cassian remembers, with large, sprawling branches, and thick leaves. Jyn is standing at the base of it, her palm against the trunk, looking thoughtfully up into the dense mess of the tree. Cassian drops his backpack next to hers and looks up as well, admiring the way the sun peeks through the leaves, in little dots like stars.

“If I fall, will you catch me, again?” Jyn asks. Cassian looks down to meet her eyes, which are suddenly serious, all traces of her earlier jokes and laughter gone.

“Of course,” he replies. He reaches out to touch her arm, lightly, and doesn’t miss the way she leans into the touch. “I’m not going anywhere, Jyn.”

“Good,” she says firmly, and then begins to climb.

Later, after Jyn shouts down to Cassian about the amazing view of the park, and luckily doesn’t come tumbling down on top of him like before, dusk settles above them. The only remnant of the sun is a thin line of red against the tops of the trees, and as they lay next to each other underneath the old oak tree, they trade stories and secrets from the past. It’s under the dim sky and the security of the trees, the feeling of the still-summer grass and damp dirt against them, that Cassian thinks they find the courage to finally talk freely together.

It all comes out in a rush. Cassian tells Jyn about his family, about growing up with an older brother who preferred pranks and girls over schoolwork, but still managed to graduate top of his class, and a younger sister who always seems to know what he’s thinking, for better or worse. He tells Jyn about the larger things, like how he and Bodhi became friends on the very first day of high school, how the first time he experience death was when his grandmother passed away last spring. He also tells her about the smaller things, like that his favorite flavor of ice cream is mint chocolate-chip, that he can play the guitar and the ukulele, and that he’s always wanted a pet dog.

He tells Jyn about his love for the stars, about how he dreams of one day being able to look back down at Earth from up above the atmosphere. She tells him that her childhood nickname is “stardust.”

“Stardust,” Cassian repeats, enjoying the weight of the word on his lips. He feels Jyn shift next to him, and he turns his head to see her staring at him with a strange look in her eyes.

“Your turn,” he says, and Jyn’s face shifts into a small smile, relaxing.

She talks about her father first, Galen Erso, the scientist. Jyn explains that they don’t see each other as much as she’d like, but their love still runs deep. Cassian can tell how much she cares about him from the fire in her eyes when she talks of childhood moments, places the two of them have visited, and other memories that she obviously holds dear. Jyn also talks about her passion for reading and her favorite books, a reoccurring dream where she is flying above a lush, green farmland alongside white geese, and how she can’t play any instruments - she makes Cassian promise to play the guitar for her sometime.

She also talks about the death of her mother with a far-away look in her eyes. It’s then that Cassian reaches out to take her hand in his. He feels Jyn come back to him, back into the present, and she leans closer to him, squeezing his hand.

It’s not until Jyn is finally shivering underneath Cassian’s jacket, which he had draped across her earlier despite her protests, that Cassian suggests they should head home. They pull each other to their feet, and leave the park with one last nostalgic look at the large oak tree, still holding hands.

\---

“Is it okay if I have a friend over for dinner on Friday?” Cassian asks his mother later that evening.

His mother pauses over the leftover tortillas she is cutting up for chilaquiles. “Cassian, haven’t you told Bodhi he’s welcome over at any time without needing to ask?”

Cassian leans against the refrigerator, watching her work. “Uh, no, I’m not talking about Bodhi.”

“Oh, who then?” His mother raises her eyebrows. Cassian clears his throat.

“You remember Jyn Erso, right?”

It’s the amused look that immediately crosses his mother’s face that tells Cassian his brother and sister had gotten to her before he did. He quickly splutters, “No, Mom, it’s not like that. We’re just getting to know each other, because we’re friends now, and I-”

“HE’S LYING, HE IS STUPIDLY IN LOVE!” shouts Flora as she barrels into the kitchen. She takes a moment to stick her tongue out at Cassian before sidling up to their mother, asking, “Can I help?”

“That would be wonderful, Flora,” their mother says. Still smiling, and ignoring the horrified expression on Cassian’s face, she turns toward her son. “Yes, I remember Jyn. She’s more than welcome, of course.” She fixes Cassian with a level gaze. “You can always talk to us, Cassian, you know that right? We want you to be happy, so if you ever need advice when it comes to-”

“No, no that’s really not necessary,” Cassian cuts in, just as Milo turns the corner into the kitchen.

“Hello,” says Milo. “I was drawn to the sounds of mockery. How are we making fun of our dear little Cassian now?”

“Jyn’s coming over for dinner on Friday,” Flora tells her older brother quickly, as Cassian drops his face into the palms of his hands.

“Wonderful!” exclaims Milo. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“I thought you said you were going over to a friend’s house on Friday,” Cassian says sharply through his fingers.

“I was,” replies Cassian’s older brother with a wide grin on his face, “but there’s no way I’m going to miss dinner with my future sister-in-law! I haven’t seen her since she fell out of the sky and into our hearts...what was it, like seven years ago?”

“I hate all of you,” Cassian says, still buying his face in his hands.

“Cassian Jeron Andor!” exclaims his mother. “How could you lump your own mother together with these two monkeys?”

Milo laughs and Flora lets out a loud complaint, but the squabbling of his family makes Cassian remove his hand to reveal his smiling face.

\---

On Friday, Jyn joins Cassian and Bodhi on their walk home from school.

“So you’re going over to the Andors for dinner, huh?” Bodhi grins. “I’m jealous, Cassian’s mom makes like the best food ever.” He pauses. “Although, don’t tell my mom I said that.”

Jyn chuckles. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Bodhi wiggles his eyebrows at Cassian over the top of Jyn’s head, which Cassian purposefully ignores.

After they’ve said their goodbyes to Bodhi, they soon reach Cassian’s front driveway. It’s the flutter of the curtain in the living room window that makes Cassian pause, halting in his tracks, wondering if this is a good idea.

“Cassian?” Jyn turns around to glance at him, a worried expression settling over her face. Cassian quickly shakes his head, not wanting to cause Jyn any kind of concern.

“Sorry, I just,” he searches for the words, “I just realized I’m actually pretty nervous. My family can be a bit much, sometimes.” He surprises himself with his honesty, and Jyn grabs his hand, wrapping her fingers around his.

“I’m nervous too,” she confesses, giving him a shy smile, something he’s not used to seeing from her. He has to fight the overwhelming, sudden urge to kiss her - because his family is definitely watching them through the windows, he tells himself.

Jyn lets go of his hand as he starts to open the front door, but it bursts open before he even has a chance to turn the handle. Milo stands in front of them, a maniacal grin on his face, with Flora tucked away, peering out from behind his legs.

“Welcome home, little bro!” sings Milo, and adds without skipping a beat, “You’re needed in the kitchen.”

Cassian frowns at his brother. “Milo, what are you-”

“Don’t worry!” Milo hastily cuts him off, pushing him away from Jyn and toward the kitchen. “We’ll take good care of Jyn! Now, go.”

Cassian hesitates, but knows there’s not much use in swaying Milo when he’s this set on something. He flashes Jyn an apologetic look. She looks amused, but Cassian can see the small hint of nervousness in her eyes.

“Let us have a moment to catch up, Cassian,” says Flora quietly, but with a reassuring tone in her voice. “It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen her, and you’ll get her all to yourself later.” She smiles. “I promise won’t let Milo break out the embarrassing photos.”

“It’s not like I didn’t see Cassian grow up, guys,” Jyn says. “I doubt there’s anything that would surprise me.”

Milo and Flora both break into a fit of laughter as Cassian says, “Please, they’ll only take that as a challenge.”

Finally, after he’s been shunned to the kitchen and the other three have retreated to the living room, Cassian finds his mother finishing up dinner, and his father sitting at the kitchen counter.

“Were you guys complicit in all that?” he asks, not bothering to keep the annoyance out of his voice, and his parents smile at each other.

“They’re both excited, Cassian,” says his father. “It’s out of the ordinary for you to bring over a friend, especially one that isn’t Bodhi.”

“Jyn looks just like I remembered,” his mother adds, confirming that she too had spied on them as they stood outside. “She’s turned into quite the beautiful young woman.”

When Cassian looks up from where he had been digging his toe into the kitchen tiling, his parents are both staring at him patiently. It’s instinctive for him to backpedal, to open his mouth to deny what they are thinking. But instead, he pauses for a moment, and then speaks.

“I don’t really know what I’m doing,” he says. “But I know I’ve been on this path for a long time.”

He’s not sure of what else to say, because it’s the truth. He feels like he’s been heading toward this moment since that day at the park, since he became aware Jyn existed. It feels surreal, to have Jyn in his house, to be able to talk easily and laugh with her, to hold her hand. But in some ways, it feels inevitable, like everything is slotting easily into place.

\---

After dinner, Cassian watches as Jyn carefully reviews the books he keeps on the shelf next to his desk, occasionally murmuring sounds of approval, or rolling her eyes.

“Next time, I’ll bring over some of my books,” Jyn says, plopping down onto the floor next to where Cassian sits, leaning against the foot of his bed. Cassian pretends to not get mentally stuck on the phrase “next time.”

“Hey, didn’t you promise me a song,” Jyn continues, eyeing the guitar resting in the corner of his room. Cassian shrugs, and she punches him in the shoulder. “Don’t give me that, you definitely did.”

“Okay, okay,” he laughs, standing up to grab his guitar. “But I’ll warn you, I’m always terrible whenever I play in front of other people.”

“I don’t believe you,” says Jyn as Cassian begins to tune the instrument. “And even if it were true, I wouldn’t care at all.” She scoots across the room so that she can see him in full view, waiting patiently for him to begin.

Cassian starts with an easy song to warm up his fingers, humming to himself to steady his heart. He doesn’t look at Jyn until the second song, and when he does, he feels breathless at the look in her eyes.

He finds the courage to sing, and continues on with the small handful of songs he can play, mostly Spanish lullabies and love songs that his sister likes. He plays not just for Jyn, but to her, watching the smile grow on her face until she is glowing. Cassian allows himself to pour his heart into the music, his voice quiet, but steady. He wonders if it is going to become a regular thing, opening himself up to Jyn, leaving himself vulnerable in her gaze.

Jyn asks him to teach her the lyrics to one of the lullabies. He scribbles down the words on a piece of paper and hands it to her, unable to keep the grin off of his face as she mumbles through the Spanish in front of her. She asks a few questions about the pronunciation, but after about five minutes, she tells him to play again.

Jyn’s voice is clear as she sings, her knees now touching his as they sit across from each other on the floor. Cassian is unable to take his eyes off of her face, as he hums along in support to her singing. As their voices weave around each other, he admires the way a strand of her hair has escaped to rest along her cheek. When Jyn looks up from the paper, he knows it's apparent he has been staring, but Jyn just smiles, her cheeks flushing slightly pink.

Cassian may pretend to know a few more songs than he actually does, just repeating a handful of chords and humming, but Jyn doesn’t seem to notice - or if she does, she doesn’t care.

\---

Septembers rolls by much like all the past Septembers Cassian can remember. However, now instead of mere glimpses in the hallway, Cassian is treated to the sight of Jyn’s smile on almost a daily basis, the brush of her hand against his frequent enough to keep him grounded in the new reality of his life.

It’s Jyn who mentions homecoming toward the end of the month, one afternoon as they work on homework at the tea shop, their legs entangled underneath the table.

Cassian’s face must be projecting the alarm that suddenly courses through him - he didn’t normally think about things like homecoming and had completely forgotten that Jyn probably wanted him to invite her - but Jyn suddenly waves her hands around in an appeasing gesture.

“Oh! No, I didn’t mean it quite like that...well, I guess I did, but I was thinking maybe you, me, and Bodhi could do something else, besides going to the dance?” She grins at Cassian. “I had thought about asking you, but I figured a high school dance is exactly the kind of thing we’d both hate.”

Cassian laughs, relieved. “Yeah...I agree. Do you have anything in mind?”

“I do,” Jyn replies. “Have you ever played laser tag?”

“A few times,” Cassian lies, thinking of that one summer in middle school he and his brother practically lived at the laser tag facility.

“Good, you can show me how to play, then,” says Jyn. “I’ve always wanted to try it.”

“Bodhi is going fall in love with you, when he finds out this is what you want to do instead of going to the dance,” Cassian says. “Especially because you’re giving him the opportunity to shoot me in the chest.”

“Tell him to get in line,” Jyn replies dryly, and Cassian laughs so loudly that both Chirrut and Baze look up from the front counter, startled.

\---

Jyn picks up the basics to laser tag with ease, and Cassian watches with no small amount of pride as she gets a direct shot at one of the other high-schoolers they’re playing with, causing the boy to let out a frustrated groan. She ducks back into the corner of the tower she and Cassian are hiding in.

“We only need a few more hits until their team is out,” Jyn whispers. “I still see Bodhi at the other tower.”

“Good,” Cassian whispers back. “We should wait a few minutes before we go over to get him.”

Jyn nods, which Cassian can barely make out in the darkness of the arena. Suddenly, they hear voices close by, from one of the opposing teams. Cassian opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, Jyn is pressing her entire body against his, pushing them as far into the corner of the tower as she can.

“What are you doing?” He hisses, his gun almost sliding out of his hands. Jyn is close enough that he sees the frown she shoots him.

“I’m blocking the light from our vests,” she explains, and in that moment, Cassian realizes just how close she actually is, how her face is merely inches from his, how he can feel her hands on his arms, holding them against the wall. The line of her leg along his is suddenly searingly hot, and Cassian can feel Jyn’s fluttering breath on his cheeks.

Cassian hopes Jyn can’t see how he is unable to tear his gaze away from her lips, but when his eyes flicker up to find hers, he can still see the green of them reflecting the low lighting of the room. Her eyes stare back, wide and wondering. Maybe her head tilts down, nose brushing his, or maybe Cassian is delirious, intoxicated from just how close Jyn finally is.

But then someone shrieks, cursing Bodhi’s name from the opposite end of the room, and Bodhi is cheering, startling them away from each other in the darkness. Cassian doesn’t want to think about how wild he looks, or how he feels like he’s gasping for air. In the soft blue light, Cassian watches as Jyn’s silhouette stands, and then extends a hand to pull him to his feet. She says nothing as they make their way over to Bodhi’s tower, and Cassian feels cold and empty all at once.

After laser tag, the three of them get ice cream at a nearby parlor. Jyn orders for Cassian and Bodhi while they grab a table, and when she returns, Cassian notices with delight that one of the three bowls she bought is mint chocolate-chip.

She and Bodhi chatter about their laser tag tactics, and Cassian feels comfortable just listening to the two of them argue back and forth about who got the most shots. Cassian watches Jyn’s face, the animated expressions that flitter across it as she speaks, and more than once, Jyn’s eyes flicker over to his, the corners of her mouth slightly curling upward.

When they’re finished, Bodhi tells them that his mother is outside, ready to take him home. Cassian has the sneaking suspicion that his friend is lying, especially after Bodhi winks at him as he’s walking away.

He and Jyn find themselves wandering through the alleyway behind the ice cream parlor, listening to the sounds of laughter floating in and out through the windows, open to the cool autumn air. They’re silent as they walk, feet shuffling against the ground.

Jyn stops in front of brick wall behind one of the shops, thoughtfully looking over a large graffiti mural. After a few moments, she suddenly turns to face Cassian, who is standing behind her.

“Are you going to kiss me?” Jyn asks, with a slight clip in her voice, like somehow, even after all this time of Cassian thinking he was being too obvious, she’s still afraid of his answer. She eyes him carefully, leaning against the wall and adding, “You’ve been staring at me ever since we got back from-”

Cassian cuts her off with a resounding, relieved, “ _yes_ ” and surges forward, his heart pounding in his chest. He braces his arm against the wall behind them as he leans down and presses his lips to hers.

They’re soft, impossibly sweet. He can feel Jyn’s eyelashes against his cheek as she closes her eyes, her hands coming to rest at the base of Cassian’s neck, fingers dancing across his skin as she holds him close. He kisses her a second, third, fourth, and then fifth time, until he pulls away to try look at her and she laughs, her lips red and hair falling in her face. Jyn pulls him close again, kissing him over and over, so many times that he loses track, lost in the touch of her lips against his.

They kiss until Cassian’s back starts to ache from the position he holds, trying not to crush Jyn against the wall. As if she senses, Jyn’s hand drops to rub against the small of his back, and she murmurs something about getting home.

As they stand by the road, waiting for Jyn’s ride, Cassian points out the constellations they can see overhead in the clear, nighttime sky. He holds Jyn’s hand in his, tucked away inside of his coat pocket.

After he points out the Big Dipper, she smiles and says, “That’s the one you have on the ceiling in your room, isn’t it?”

He nods, before ducking down to kiss her once again. Because he wants to, and now he can.

She laughs against his mouth, and as he pulls away, he finds himself saying, “Why haven’t I been doing this my entire life?”

Jyn squeezes his hand. “I don’t know, but you should have.” Cassian feels as though he’s floating, from the warmth in his stomach, and in Jyn’s eyes.

When her ride is finally there, and she pulls her hand out of his pocket, he whispers, “Goodnight, Stardust,” and her smile and the kiss she plants on his cheek is enough to get him through the walk home.

\---

They bake a cake for Bodhi’s birthday, which is the following week. It’s her father, not Jyn, who opens the door when Cassian knocks. The sight of Galen, a man who Cassian hadn’t seen since he was a small child, makes him somewhat nervous. Galen eyes him, and Cassian wonders how Galen still seems impossibly large, even after all these years.

But then Galen gives a broad smile, not unlike Jyn’s, and ushers Cassian into the house.

He finds Jyn in the kitchen, with flour on her pants and cake batter in her hair.

“Hi,” she says, peering around him to see if her father is close by. When it’s apparent he isn’t, she gives Cassian a chaste, short kiss, and he can taste the vanilla on her lips.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but,” Cassian looks at the mess around them, amused. “It looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy exploded in here.

Jyn wrinkles her nose. “Ugh, that’s a great image.” She suddenly looks sheepish. “But, no, I wanted to surprise you before we started on Bodhi’s cake. To probably no one’s surprise, I’m not the best at baking.” She reaches around Cassian to grab something. “Here, this is for you, and then you get to choose the next one.”

She places a cupcake into his hands. On top of the frosting is a small note that reads, “Do you want to go out with me?” Cassian looks up, his face breaking into a grin, and opens his mouth to reply, but Jyn says, “Ah ah ah, you have to pick between these two.”

She shows him the two other cupcakes. One holds a note that says, “yes,” and the other, “definitely.” Cassian laughs so hard his sides hurt.

“I’m taking both of them,” he says after a moment of looking at Jyn, who is standing before him with an honest, open expression of happiness, and love. Cassian thinks of the stars, of how sometimes two celestial bodies pull on each other until they finally collide. Jyn is the brightest thing he knows, far outshining anything in the cosmos, and as he pulls her in for another sugary kiss, he thanks the stars for allowing their orbits to finally cross.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!


End file.
